When That New Pastor Comes




When That New Pastor Comes

When that new pastor comes he(could be a ‘she’, but I will use ‘he’ for simplicity) will ______________.   Much speculation goes into conversations about what a new shepherd will bring to our church.  For every person there is a different perspective on what he will do, how he will act, what he will bring, how old he will be, etc.  But what’s important?  How can the entire congregation unite behind their new leader? 

There are sure-fire ways to discourage him immediately:
  • “We’ve tried that before, it didn’t work before, it won’t work now.”
  • “We don’t do that here.”
  • “Let me tell you how things work here.”
  • “We want to be like we used to be.”

I was told years ago that a pastor should do two things when he first arrives: 1) Love the people and 2) Learn the history.  That second one is fraught with difficulty since history is subjective and the story of your church is no exception.  So, the congregation can help out the new pastor by making it easy to love them.  Invite him to your home.  Take him out for coffee.  i.e. take initiative and absorb him into the life of the church.  In terms of history…yes, tell him your story and leave out blame and shame.  It’s a wonderful promise that God can take all things and bring about good for those who love him.(Romans 8:28)

It’s inevitable that a new pastor comes with ideas that will be new to your congregation.  Some of you might even be tired of trying new things since over the past 20 years you’ve been led by Ben, Bob, David, Charlie, Walter and Allen.  “Great….here comes a new guy with his bag of tricks.”  But assume that God has led him here and you can take the approach of “finding out what God is doing and join Him in it.”  How will this pastor’s walk with God dovetail with your church and it’s members?  I also hope that the new pastor will take the same strategy.  Things are happening here that God has led us to do.  Let’s pray that the new pastor takes notice over his first few months.  

Trust him as he trusts in God and His Word.  Pray for him every day and here’s a radical thought…pray WITH him.  Prayer has grown stronger over the last year.  I sense a greater dependence on the Holy Spirit for guidance and a desire to be what God wants the church to be.  

As we have been talking about spiritual gifts on Wednesday nights, understand that the pastor will only have the gifts that God has given him.  He will be dependent up the congregation to fill in where he is lacking.  The entire body of Christ at Hebron will need to work very hard to be the church that God intends it to be.  


What a great opportunity to invite a new pastor onboard a thriving, growing and Christ-centered ship headed in the direction of serving God wherever He leads.  May we stay the course and be the church God wants us to be.

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